Kosciusko softball star Kelly Hood had a double dose of disappointment due to the pandemic.
She was off to a great start her junior year, batting .565 with a .625 on base average and a 1.043 slugging average when the season ended.
“I wanted this to be my best year,” she said. “I was practicing all the time with my dad. I was very disappointed that it came to an end like it did.”
Hood was chosen on the 4A/5A/6A North team for the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star Game, but was disappointed again when the game scheduled for May 29 was canceled. “I wanted to put everything I learned into that game.”
The pandemic has played havoc with high school athletics, including MAC all star events. However, tennis and volleyball matches scheduled for next month are still on.
“We have them scheduled to play. If we can play under COVID-19 guidelines, we will play,” said MAC executive director Johnny Mims. “If the restrictions and guidelines tell us we can't play, then we won't play.”
The tennis match is scheduled for July 16 at Parham Bridges Tennis Center in Jackson. Volleyball is scheduled for July 25 at Brandon High School.
The North-South basketball game was not played on the scheduled date of March 21 at Mississippi College's A.E Wood Coliseum in Clinton, but MAC is hoping to reschedule it. “We are working with Mississippi College to see if we can do that. We would love to have it before school starts,” Mims said.
The baseball all star game put on by the Crossroads Diamond Club was also cancelled.
Hood was told that the softball game might be played next year and she is holding out that hope. She has one more year at Kosciusko on an outstanding career as the Lady Whippets' second baseman.
She batted .330 as an eighth grader, .390 as a freshman in helping Kosciusko win the 4A state title and .443 as a sophomore with five doubles, five triples, four homers, 36 RBIs and 56 runs scored.
Although she has another high school year, Hood has committed to Holmes Community College. It is close to home and she is looking forward to playing for Trae Embry who has been hired as the school's new head coach. Embry, the most successful high school softball coach in Mississippi history, won three state championships at Eupora and the last seven at Neshoba Central.
“I feel like I will be my best as a player with him coaching me,” Hood said.
